Electronic devices, such as smartphones and tablets, continue to evolve through increasing levels of performance and functionality as manufacturers design feature-rich products that offer consumers greater convenience and productivity. Today, a single smartphone can operate as a phone, two-way radio, media player, web browser, navigation system, camera, videocamera, videophone, personal digital assistant, gaming device, and remote control where separate, dedicated devices would have been required at the turn of the century.
As the number of selectable hardware features packed into electronic devices increase, so does the complexity of user interfaces used to activate the hardware features. In a given situation, or at a given time, a user navigates his way through menus or other organizational constructs of a user interface to physically tap an icon that selects a desired hardware feature from those that are available. This is especially true where the device is unable to anticipate the needs of the user. Selecting hardware features by hand in this way has numerous drawbacks.
In some instances, a user might not have a free hand with which to select a hardware feature for activation on an electronic device. In other instances, the extra steps involved in navigating menus and tapping icons are an inconvenience. For a particular case where a fleeting photo opportunity presents itself, a user may not have enough time to transition from a default camera to an alternate camera better suited to capture the action.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention. In addition, the description and drawings do not necessarily require the order presented. It will be further appreciated that certain actions and/or steps may be described or depicted in a particular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art will understand that such specificity with respect to sequence is not actually required.
The apparatus and method components have been represented, where appropriate, by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.